Reading response: One thing to do about food: A forum

The contributors to this article are well known for their polarizing views on food and agriculture, and the writings included in this compilation further point to this. Nevertheless, each section of this article brings up valid and intriguing points.
Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, illustrates his point with the example of the National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005, which barred individual states from imposing food regulations that are stricter than those at the federal level. This was supported by many agribusiness and food company interests and was passed with relatively little public knowledge.
Marion Nestle takes a different tactic, identifying the problem of child obesity and searching for its cause. Her conclusion? An overabundance of calories being produced, and the subsequent marketing of those calories to children, in the form of soft drinks, salty snacks and fast food.
Michael Pollan, in turn, blames the problems with America’s food system on the Farm Bill legislation and its encouragement of corn and soybean production. He concludes that the farm bill is essentially subsidizing production of high fructose corn syrup and the processed food that it goes into.
Wendell Berry’s views are slightly less extreme, but still represent only one side of the argument. He points out that most consumers take the abundance of food for granted and have lost the skills necessary for them to self sufficient. Agribusiness has taken the place of food independence and people have lost touch with food production.
Troy Duster and Elizabeth Ransom take a similar position to Berry. They point out that with less than two percent of the population involved in production agriculture, an entire generation has lost the knowledge that comes from “growing, preserving and preparing one’s own food.” One way to combat this issue is to start education people about food at a very early age. For example, in Berkeley, California, an initiative to begin a school garden program plans to educate students about the process of food production from planting to consumption. While this idea is ambitious, it is not a one-size-fits-all; rather it is part of a larger cultural change.
Winona LaDuke, a member of the Ojibwe Indian Tribe, shares her cultural traditions of harvesting wild rice on the White Earth Reservation. She talks about her tribe’s relationship with the food and how that relationship is longer present in most societies. “Agriculture”, she states, “is about the culture of food.” The loss of that culture threatens our relationship with the environment.
Peter Singer’s portion of the article is devoted to making the case against large-scale meat production. Not only does he argue against the use of corn and soybeans in livestock feed, but also conventional animal agricultural management practices as well. He urges readers to boycott so-called “factory farms” and go vegan.
Vandana Shiva presents her arguments from the viewpoints of the people whose livelihoods are dependent on small-scale farming. These people, found all over the world, but particularly in developing countries have been pushed off their land by larger businesses with more capital and power.
Carlo Petrini returns the focus of the paper to food itself. Gastronomy, the science of all that relates to man as a feeding animal, has roots in the historical, anthropological, agricultural, economic, social and philosophical aspects and calls for food to have more of a central role in our lives and the policies that govern them.
Eliot Coleman’s section contrasts organic farming with what he calls “chemical agriculture.” He stresses the biological differences between the two methods and talks of prevention rather than treatment in the case of soil fertility, pests, weeds, etc.
Jim Hightower concludes the article by blaming the problems of the modern food system on management by corporate lobbyists, lawyers and economists. These people have very little knowledge of agricultural productions and have tried to mechanize food production as much as possible. He looks to alternative movements within the food system, such as local farming, community gardens, etc as ways to reconnect people with their food.

This is an extensively developed argument for one side of the industrial agriculture debate. However there are a number of other aspects that must be considered. First of all, take a look at our growing population. There is no way that backyard gardens and the farms of 50-100 years ago can feed that many people. Industrial agriculture might not be pretty, and it is far from perfect, but it has the capacity to support our population and is continually being improved by science. It is necessary to look at both sides of this argument before drawing any conclusions.

Discussion questions:
Is it possible to strike a balance between commercial and alternative agriculture? If so, how do we determine that point?

The growing population needs to be fed from an ever-shrinking land base and a decreasing amount of resources. How will alternative methods of agriculture improve to overcome these obstacles?